Asked whether they would press charges against the father, the sheriff responded, "You have a right to defend your daughter. He acted in defense of his third person. Once the investigation is completed we will submit it to the district attorney who then submits it to the grand jury, who will decide if they will indict him."

Harmon described the dad as "very remorseful," adding that he didn't know the man was going to die.

Authorities were withholding the deceased man's name while they notified next of kin. Officials did not know immediately if he has a prior criminal history.

Lavaca County Precinct Judge Alene Lyons, who is coordinating information in the case including autopsy results, said Monday

that a preliminary autopsy report indicated the victim "died from blunt-force head and neck injuries."

"It will take six weeks to get the full report back because they also did a toxicology report," Lyons said.